Thursday, May 31, 2018

'Toon Reviews 15: Steven Universe Season 2 Episode 9: We Need to Talk


We Need to Talk







With this show kept in Steven’s perspective, all the development from other characters is present whenever he’s around to witness or hear about it.  This gives the show a unique feel with everything seen through the eyes of a child.  It’s a clever personification of how the audience experiences and grows to understand the world of any series. 
An strong example of this perspective at play is in cartoons where Steven hears about his dad, Greg’s, past back when he first met Rose Quartz which gives him, and the audience, a clearer perception of how he came to be, as well as a nice perception on certain life values.  The first one, “Story for Steven”, recounted Greg first meeting Rose and deciding to drop everything to be with her.  This time, the flashback is on how they officially became an item when Steven and Connie accidentally fuse into Stevonnie in front of Greg, who offers a perspective on fusion as a human who understands it. 
The whole thing begins with an establishment of how close Greg and Rose have become via a performance of the song, “What Can I Do for You?” which is made more impactful with Rose’s lines that allude to her fascination with Earth’s human life.  During this song, Pearl attempts to one-up Greg's performance by convincing Rose to fuse with her, resulting in them becoming Rainbow Quartz.  Greg’s astounding reaction from this fusion is perfectly captured by a dramatic guitar solo in the song’s second half.  Then while Rose is away, Pearl rubs it in Greg’s face that he, like all humans will never amount to the greatness of Gems because humans can’t fuse. 
Harsh, yet expected, as her words are, they do their part to make Greg’s newfound ambition to fuse with Rose and officially solidify his relationship with her perfectly clear.  The only problem is that Gems only fuse with Gems, yet Greg is willing to try to be the first human to experience fusion.  However, no matter how hard he studies the fusion moves from the song's tape recording or follows the advice on how it works through his own personal dance, it turns out to be true that as a human, Greg can’t fuse with Rose.  It’s certainly an unfortunate outcome, especially since it justifies Pearl’s uptight attitude from earlier, but it’s admirable for the story to go in a more believable direction. 
Speaking of believable, what ultimately brings Greg and Rose together rings very true to how most couples come to be.  As Rose laughs without showing any respect to Greg's disappointment (feelings that make too much sense given the most recent events of this show regarding her), he slowly reveals his concerns about their relationship building up to a basic confession of his love for Rose.  Even if they don’t fuse, their love wins through his honesty, and the couple is made official much to Pearl’s dismay and the other Crystal Gems’ wonder.  
Through Greg’s own strengths, he finds love his way, resulting in another work from this show that’s as inspirational as it is nicely constructed, making the setup of Steven needing to be around for us to see it work. 9.5/10
The Ranking
  1. Sworn to the Sword
  2. Keeping it Together
  3. Full Disclosure
  4. We Need to Talk
  5. Reformed
  6. Joy Ride
  7. Say Uncle
  8. Rising Tides, Crashing Skies
  9. Love Letters
The next Steven Universe review finally gives us an answer on what became of Malachite and a believable reason why the Crystal Gems don't attempt to track her down afterwards.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is another Hey Arnold Season 3 review covering "Career Day" and "Hey Harold".
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